A Relational Perspective on Neurodiverse Teams: Psychological Safety, Relationship Quality, and Identification

This study presents a multilevel investigation of neurodivergence in relation to psychological safety, relationship quality, and team identification. Moreover, it examines the influence of awareness and social acceptance of neurodiversity on these relations. Utilizing a sample of 70 teams, we disentangle within-group and between-group effects and discuss the differences. Our findings indicate that neurodivergent individuals report lower perceived psychological safety, leading to diminished team identification and relationship quality. However, teams with a high proportion of neurodivergent members report higher psychological safety at the group level, suggesting that neurodiverse teams, on average, experience higher psychological safety, relationship quality, and team identification.